Death tolls climbs in West Virginia coal mine blast

In one of the worst mining disasters in the last 25 years, the death toll has now climbed to 25 with more miners still missing. Hope for those still missing was in doubt due the severity of the explosion and the extremely high levels of toxic Methane gas. Mining always has been and will reamin one of the most dangerous occupations. Will this incident be used by the Obama administration to curtail and pressure the coal mining industry even more? Do not look past Obama to use this against the coal industry. As Rahm Emanuel said, "never let a crisis go to waste." It would be a dishonor to have the lives of the coal miners slimed in such a way. I cannot put this past Obama and comrades.

---

Death toll climbs to 25 in coal mine explosion

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and

MONTCOAL, W.Va. - An explosion at a remote coal mine with a history of safety problems killed 25 workers and at least four others were still missing early Tuesday more than a thousand feet underground in the worst U.S. mine disaster since 1984.

Rescuers had been making their way to the area where the miners were believed trapped at Massey Energy Co.'s sprawling Upper Big Branch mine, where the blast occurred around 3 p.m. Monday. However, safety officials said at a news conference that the search was suspended because rising methane gas levels in the mine made it a high risk for another explosion.

Earlier, Kevin Stricklin, an administrator for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said officials hoped some of the missing survived the initial blast and were able to reach airtight chambers stocked with food, water and enough oxygen for them to live for four days. However, rescue teams made it to one of two nearby shelters and it was empty. The gas levels prevented them from reaching the second.

Massey Energy and safety officials confirmed that 25 bodies were found. The death toll had risen from seven earlier in the day to 12 at about midnight. A total of 29 miners were in the area when the blast happened, he said.

"It does not appear that any of the individuals made it to a rescue chamber," Stricklin said at a news conference. "The situation is dire."

State mining director Ron Wooten said though the situation does not seem promising to reach the four still missing, rescuers wouldn't give up.

"We haven't given up hope at all," he said.

In 1984, 27 were killed by a fire at Emery Mining Corp.'s mine in Orangeville, Utah.

Killed five weeks from retirement
Benny R. Willingham, 62, who was five weeks away from retiring, was among those killed in West Virginia, said his sister-in-law Sheila Prillaman.

He had mined for 30 years, the last 17 with Massey, and planned to take his wife on a cruise to the Virgin Islands next month, she said.

"Benny was the type — he probably wouldn't have stayed retired long," Prillaman said. "He wasn't much of a homebody."

Prillaman said family members were angry because they learned of Willingham's death after reading it on a list Massey posted, instead of being contacted by the company, which said it wouldn't release names until next of kin were notified.

Though the cause of the blast was not known, the operation about 30 miles south of Charleston has a history of violations for not properly ventilating highly combustible methane gas, safety officials said.

Blast of air

Miners were leaving on a vehicle that takes them in and out of the mine's long shaft when a crew ahead of them felt a blast of air and went back to investigate, Stricklin said.

They found nine workers, seven of whom were dead. Others were hurt or missing about a mile and a half inside the mine.

Massey Energy, a publicly traded company based in Richmond, Va., has 2.2 billion tons of coal reserves in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia and Tennessee, according to the company's Web site. It ranks among the nation's top five coal producers and is among the industry's most profitable. It has a spotty safety record. Continue reading